# Naismith College Player of the Year

The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.

## History and selection

First awarded exclusively to male players in 1969, the award was expanded to include female players in 1983. Annually before the college season begins in November, a "watchlist" consisting of 50 players is chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club board of selectors, comprising head coaches, administrators and media members from across the United States. By February, the list of nominees is narrowed down to 30 players based on performance. In March, four out of the 30 players are selected as finalists and are placed in the final ballot. The final winners are selected in April by both the board of selectors and fan voting via text messaging. The winners receive the Naismith Trophy.
Since its beginning in 1969, the trophy has been awarded to 44 male players and 24 female players. Lew Alcindor of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Anne Donovan of Old Dominion University were the first winners, respectively. Bill Walton of UCLA, Ralph Sampson of the University of Virginia, and Zach Edey of Purdue have been the only men to win this award multiple times, with the former two players winning three times and Edey winning it twice. Ten women in all have won this award multiple times. Cheryl Miller of the University of Southern California and Breanna Stewart of the University of Connecticut (UConn) are the only three-time winners, while eight others have won it twice: Clarissa Davis of the University of Texas, Dawn Staley of the University of Virginia, Chamique Holdsclaw of the University of Tennessee, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore of UConn, Seimone Augustus of Louisiana State University, Brittney Griner of Baylor University, and Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa. Davis and Moore are the only players of either sex to have won multiple times in non-consecutive years.
Three award winners, two men and one woman, were born in United States territories:
* Alfred "Butch" Lee, who was born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and
* Tim Duncan and Aliyah Boston, both born in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The only award winners who have been born outside the jurisdiction of the United States were:
* Andrew Bogut, born in Melbourne, Australia.
* Patrick Ewing, born in Kingston, Jamaica.
* Buddy Hield, born in Freeport, Bahamas.
* Oscar Tshiebwe, born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
* Zach Edey, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Six of these players were developed at least partially in the U.S. proper—Lee was raised in Harlem from early childhood; Ewing immigrated to the Boston area at age 12; Boston moved to Worcester, Massachusetts at the same age; Hield attended high school in suburban Wichita, Kansas; Tshiebwe attended high schools in southwestern Virginia and western Pennsylvania; and Edey spent his last two high school years in Florida. Duncan did not move to the U.S. proper until he arrived at Wake Forest University, and Bogut lived in Australia until his arrival at the University of Utah.
Duke has had the most male winners with eight, while UConn has had the most female winners, with eleven awards won by seven individuals. The award has been won by a freshman four times: Kevin Durant playing for Texas in 2007, in 2012 by Anthony Davis of Kentucky, Zion Williamson of Duke in 2019, and Paige Bueckers of UConn in 2021.

## Winners

| * | Denotes players inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has won the award |

### Men

| Year | Player | College | Position | Class |
| 1969 | Lew Alcindor* | UCLA | C | Senior |
| 1970 | Pete Maravich* | LSU | G | Senior |
| 1971 | Austin Carr | Notre Dame | G | Senior |
| 1972 | Bill Walton* | UCLA | C | Sophomore |
| 1973 | Bill Walton* (2) | UCLA | C | Junior |
| 1974 | Bill Walton* (3) | UCLA | C | Senior |
| 1975 | David Thompson* | N.C. State | G | Senior |
| 1976 | Scott May | Indiana | F | Senior |
| 1977 | Marques Johnson | UCLA | F | Senior |
| 1978 | Butch Lee | Marquette | G | Senior |
| 1979 | Larry Bird* | Indiana State | F | Senior |
| 1980 | Mark Aguirre | DePaul | F | Sophomore |
| 1981 | Ralph Sampson* | Virginia | C | Sophomore |
| 1982 | Ralph Sampson* (2) | Virginia | C | Junior |
| 1983 | Ralph Sampson* (3) | Virginia | C | Senior |
| 1984 | Michael Jordan* | North Carolina | G | Junior |
| 1985 | Patrick Ewing* | Georgetown | C | Senior |
| 1986 | Johnny Dawkins | Duke | G | Senior |
| 1987 | David Robinson* | Navy | C | Senior |
| 1988 | Danny Manning | Kansas | F | Senior |
| 1989 | Danny Ferry | Duke | F | Senior |
| 1990 | Lionel Simmons | La Salle | F | Senior |
| 1991 | Larry Johnson | UNLV | F | Senior |
| 1992 | Christian Laettner | Duke | F | Senior |
| 1993 | Calbert Cheaney | Indiana | G | Senior |
| 1994 | Glenn Robinson | Purdue | F | Junior |
| 1995 | Joe Smith | Maryland | F | Sophomore |
| 1996 | Marcus Camby | Massachusetts | C | Junior |
| 1997 | Tim Duncan* | Wake Forest | C | Senior |
| 1998 | Antawn Jamison | North Carolina | F | Junior |
| 1999 | Elton Brand | Duke | F | Sophomore |
| 2000 | Kenyon Martin | Cincinnati | F | Senior |
| 2001 | Shane Battier | Duke | F | Senior |
| 2002 | Jason Williams | Duke | G | Junior |
| 2003 | T. J. Ford | Texas | G | Sophomore |
| 2004 | Jameer Nelson | Saint Joseph's | G | Senior |
| 2005 | Andrew Bogut | Utah | C | Sophomore |
| 2006 | JJ Redick | Duke | G | Senior |
| 2007 | Kevin Durant | Texas | F | Freshman |
| 2008 | Tyler Hansbrough | North Carolina | F | Junior |
| 2009 | Blake Griffin | Oklahoma | F | Sophomore |
| 2010 | Evan Turner | Ohio State | G | Junior |
| 2011 | Jimmer Fredette | Brigham Young | G | Senior |
| 2012 | Anthony Davis | Kentucky | C | Freshman |
| 2013 | Trey Burke | Michigan | G | Sophomore |
| 2014 | Doug McDermott | Creighton | F | Senior |
| 2015 | Frank Kaminsky | Wisconsin | F | Senior |
| 2016 | Buddy Hield | Oklahoma | G | Senior |
| 2017 | Frank Mason III | Kansas | G | Senior |
| 2018 | Jalen Brunson | Villanova | G | Junior |
| 2019 | Zion Williamson | Duke | F | Freshman |
| 2020 | Obi Toppin | Dayton | F | Sophomore |
| 2021 | Luka Garza | Iowa | C | Senior |
| 2022 | Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky | C | Junior |
| 2023 | Zach Edey | Purdue | C | Junior |
| 2024 | Zach Edey (2) | Purdue | C | Senior |

### Women

| Year | Player | College | Position | Class |
| 1983 | Anne Donovan* | Old Dominion | C | Senior |
| 1984 | Cheryl Miller* | USC | F/C | Sophomore |
| 1985 | Cheryl Miller* (2) | USC | F/C | Junior |
| 1986 | Cheryl Miller* (3) | USC | F/C | Senior |
| 1987 | Clarissa Davis | Texas | F | Sophomore |
| 1988 | Sue Wicks | Rutgers | F | Senior |
| 1989 | Clarissa Davis (2) | Texas | F | Senior |
| 1990 | Jennifer Azzi | Stanford | G | Senior |
| 1991 | Dawn Staley* | Virginia | PG | Junior |
| 1992 | Dawn Staley* (2) | Virginia | PG | Senior |
| 1993 | Sheryl Swoopes* | Texas Tech | G/F | Senior |
| 1994 | Lisa Leslie* | USC | C | Senior |
| 1995 | Rebecca Lobo* | UConn | C | Senior |
| 1996 | Saudia Roundtree | Georgia | G | Senior |
| 1997 | Kate Starbird | Stanford | G | Senior |
| 1998 | Chamique Holdsclaw | Tennessee | F | Junior |
| 1999 | Chamique Holdsclaw (2) | Tennessee | F | Senior |
| 2000 | Tamika Catchings* | Tennessee | F | Junior |
| 2001 | Ruth Riley | Notre Dame | C | Senior |
| 2002 | Sue Bird | UConn | G | Senior |
| 2003 | Diana Taurasi | UConn | G | Junior |
| 2004 | Diana Taurasi (2) | UConn | G | Senior |
| 2005 | Seimone Augustus* | LSU | G/F | Junior |
| 2006 | Seimone Augustus* (2) | LSU | G/F | Senior |
| 2007 | Lindsey Harding | Duke | PG | Senior |
| 2008 | Candace Parker | Tennessee | F | Senior |
| 2009 | Maya Moore | UConn | F | Sophomore |
| 2010 | Tina Charles | UConn | C | Senior |
| 2011 | Maya Moore (2) | UConn | F | Senior |
| 2012 | Brittney Griner | Baylor | C | Junior |
| 2013 | Brittney Griner (2) | Baylor | C | Senior |
| 2014 | Breanna Stewart | UConn | F | Sophomore |
| 2015 | Breanna Stewart (2) | UConn | F | Junior |
| 2016 | Breanna Stewart (3) | UConn | F | Senior |
| 2017 | Kelsey Plum | Washington | PG | Senior |
| 2018 | A'ja Wilson | South Carolina | F | Senior |
| 2019 | Megan Gustafson | Iowa | C | Senior |
| 2020 | Sabrina Ionescu | Oregon | G | Senior |
| 2021 | Paige Bueckers | UConn | PG | Freshman |
| 2022 | Aliyah Boston | South Carolina | F | Junior |
| 2023 | Caitlin Clark | Iowa | G | Junior |
| 2024 | Caitlin Clark (2) | Iowa | G | Senior |

#### Notes

* ↑ Unlike all other Naismith winners enshrined in the Hall of Fame, Lobo is not enshrined as a player, but rather as a contributor.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The University of Connecticut used "Connecticut" as its official athletic brand until 2013–14.